Drogheda United are set to receive a significant investment from the American owners of Walsall FC.
Trivela Group LLC, the Alabama-based sports investment firm that took over the fourth-tier English club in January 2022 are close to finalising an offer to buy into the fan-owned Louth club.
“We are in serious talks with one potential investor, but we are under a confidential agreement to allow the due diligence process to take place,” said Joanna Byrne, Drogheda United’s interim chairwoman. “It would have to go to the members that own our club for approval. I’d say it could happen in the next few weeks.”
Drogheda have just over 200 members so if the negotiations, which are headed up by club director Conor Hoey, prove successful an emergency general meeting will be called. Each member gets one vote on selling a majority shareholding to the US firm, with a simple majority required.
Having observed the problems suffered by neighbours Dundalk, under the ownership of another US firm Peak6, talks have been cautiously ongoing with a number of investors since August 2022. This process has now been whittled down to one, the Trivela Group.
Trivela was founded by Benjamin Boycott and Kenneth Polk. Last year Boycott became co-chairman of Walsall alongside the club’s former owner Leigh Pomlett. Polk is CEO at Arlington Family Offices in Birmingham, Alabama which holds over $12 billion (€11 billion) in capital.
Boycott, a Canadian with a background in finance, said after the takeover of Walsall that he believes in “investing in things that matter in the world and matter in communities, things that will stand the test of time.”
“We’re pursuing a multi-club ownership model, that’s the long-term vison,” said Boycott. “There’s interesting opportunities for synergy when an organisation has multiple clubs. It’s the town [of Walsall’s] club. We’re the stewards of it.”
In 2009 a High Court judge approved a fan-owned scheme that allowed Drogheda United avoid examinership.
Since the takeover of Shelbourne by Hull City owner and Turkish media magnate Acun Ilicali, the League of Ireland has become a live option for wealthy owners seeking to create a multi-club system that links Irish clubs to English teams.
The investment by Trivela has the potential to revive Drogheda’s fortunes and ultimately drive them into European football.
Like the Shels deal with Hull, Drogheda would be the smaller club feeding into the bigger English organisation. Walsall finished 16th in League Two last season with four Irish players on their books in Liam Kinsella, Ronan Maher, Oisin McEntee and Conor Wilkinson.
Kinsella, the son of former Ireland international Mark, left the club this summer after 253 appearances for the Saddlers.
In January 2022, Trivela announced a two-stage takeover of Walsall FC.
“In phase one, Trivela has purchased 51 per cent of the shares of WFC, and has injected additional capital directly into the club for strategic investments,” said Boycott. “In phase two, which will take place within two years, Trivela will acquire an additional 25 per cent shareholding from Leigh Pomlett, and will bring forward additional resources to allow the club to execute the existing purchase option on Poundland Bescot Stadium and the surrounding property. Facilitating and completing the purchase of the stadium freehold is a top priority for the new ownership group.”
The FAI own United Park in Drogheda. Like most League of Ireland grounds, it is badly in need of modernisation.
US takeovers have become the norm in English football since the Glazer family bought a majority share of Manchester United in 2005.
Sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich sold Chelsea to Clearlake Capital last year. Now under the chairmanship of American billionaire Todd Boehly, the Londoners just announced a majority share purchase of French club Strasbourg.
Retired NFL star JJ Watt has invested in Burnley, where Irish players Josh Cullen and Michael Obafemi are contracted ahead of their return to the Premier League while Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds created a reality television show around his ownership of Wrexham.
When approached for comment by The Irish Times, Walsall FC were “not in a position” to speak about the potential deal with Drogheda, redirecting future enquiries to the Trivela Group.
